se salts for ocean swimming

[ladybug93]

i’ve been in a lot of discussions here about why anyone would carry a knife on them in the ocean. there have even been posts making fun of people for thinking they would defend themselves against a shark.

i bought a se pac salt when i moved to hawaii so i would have a capable knife on me in the water. not for sharks specifically, but i’d rather have it than not have it should the need arise. however, i did choose the pac salt se specifically for other, more realistic hazards you might run into in the water, such as fishing lines, ropes, or netting. i wanted the longest blade with the most teeth that i could fold and put in my waistband (the caribbean wasn’t a thing yet).

well, plenty of people still think that is a silly concern. i promise you it’s not. here’s a picture from the beach today.


you can see at least three different types of netting here all mangled together. this kind of junk washes up all the time on the east coast of the island, especially when the trade winds are blowing strong. no one wants to be caught in this.

and, just for another spyderco spyderedge sales pitch, i happened to be carrying both my pacific salt se and my native salt pe and tried them both out on the netting. the se blasted through multiple layers of netting for both the green and black and it also had no problem with the super thick black plastic net. the native salt pe did cut, but did a lot more sliding off than slicing through the multiple layers.

don’t get me wrong, i’d rather have the pe than nothing, but the se is a clear winner on these types of materials, especially when timeliness is important. also, this is not a comparison of the steels. lc200n is an amazing steel, but serrations win regardless of the steel in this case.

if you go in the ocean, i recommend having some variation of spyderedge salt on you and accessible. it could save your life, the life of someone around you, or even some sea life.

[VooDooChild]

We pulled in a dead sea turtle just the other day that was caught up in line and other debris.

[sal]

Hi Ladybug,

Thanx for sharing. Gail and I were certified on the Big Island. Now we regularly visit Kauai. When In Kauai, that's what I carry, A SE Pacific,

sal

[zuludelta]

It's rather sad that one of the things I occasionally use my folders for when I spend time outdoors at the nearby lake is to free birds from discarded netting, fishing line, and six-pack rings.

[Evil D]

This is why I'm a SE man now, I know without a doubt it's going to cut whatever I put it to and not slide off. That sliding is a problem with lots of materials, not just rope/nets.


Just make sure the clip is super tight. I lost my Tazman in the Atlantic and still don't know how it came unclipped from my shorts.

[VooDooChild]

This is why I'm a SE man now, I know without a doubt it's going to cut whatever I put it to and not slide off. That sliding is a problem with lots of materials, not just rope/nets.


Just make sure the clip is super tight. I lost my Tazman in the Atlantic and still don't know how it came unclipped from my shorts.

I have carried in board shorts a lot. I just cant recommend iwb. Its fine for just swimming and snorkeling around, which I think is what most people are going to do, but when it gets rough that knife will be gone. There is some discrepancy here. Luck has a lot to do with it. One guy I used to work with carried iwb all the time and never lost his pac salt. But I saw more knives get lost from iwb carry by far. Even if not in the water sometimes that clip still likes to snag and remove itself.

I carry in the board short pocket. Surfing board shorts, so inside that pocket is a wax comb loop. I clip the knife on that loop and then close the pocket. Most pockets close with velcro or a zipper. I do the same with my truck key on a carabiner, havent lost either and I have done this for years.

The problem is, and why I think most people want to do iwb, is that as the knife gets larger it becomes much more cumbersome in a side pocket of board shorts. Especially if its banging around into your knee.

Since I carry like that I put the dfly 2 salt and native salt pretty much at the top of the list for ones I prefer to carry in a board short pocket. Although if they do a lil native salt backlock lightweight it would win hands down. Those two knives also happen to have better blade retention than pretty much all the other salts which is a huge factor for me as well.

[Liveliner]

I fish, surfcast, around boulder fields and hop around ledges on the Maine coast. I carry the SE Pacific Salt for all the same reasons Ladybug noted. Lobster trap debris, floats &'netting is often found lodged in ledge crevices etc. Wading around at night the possibility of getting your legs tangled up in braided line, netting etc with waves breaking on you is a real possibility. Braided fishing line is thin and-wispy but very strong. Re-tying a rig one night excess line carried by wind wrapped itself around my legs. I opened my stance for balance and nearly got tripped off the elevated ledge by the braid that had wrapped around my leg.
Chit happens. I carry the full size SE Pacific Salt because I like the size, grip and the stoutness it projects. Could come in handy.

[ladybug93]

sorry about your tasman loss, evil d. i know that one must hurt. i would be devastated if i lost my pac salt to the ocean. so far, i’ve had no problems at all though. even yesterday, i was body surfing in some of the roughest waves i’ve been in here and was slammed into the ground and tumbled around. both knives were in my waistband and neither budged. i’m definitely not saying it’s impossible, but it hasn’t come close to happening to me yet. i check for them frequently, since i can barely tell they are there in the first place.

voodoochild, i can imagine a pac salt would not be comfortable in the pocket as you described. a df2 salt is definitely a better choice for that type of carry. i just wanted the longest blade and the most teeth i could carry comfortably, so i went with the pac salt iwb. it seems that deployment would also be much easier and quicker from the waistband than clipped to that loop inside of the pocket. i imagine i could potentially be struggling while needing to reach my knife and i don’t want to add any obstacles.


i hate reading stories of animals caught up in our trash. i’m not some tree hugging hippie or anything, but that kind of thing is so unnecessary and sad. i hope we will take steps to be better stewards of what we’ve been given.

[JuPaul]

So I'm planning to create my franken SE pac salt 2 (black blade, yellow handle) and I was planning to sell the leftover satin/black one. But you guys have just convinced me to gift it to my uncle, who spends half the year on Kauai. I'm sure he comes across netting and trapped animals in his ocean/beach adventures, and it'd be put to good use.

[michaelm466]

I think it's more lakes and rivers, but there some long (3-6ft) plant life that lives on the bottom usually about 2-10 ft from the surface that has been known to wrap around a swimmers feet when jumping in off a boat or dock, I've experienced it myself, luckily not to bad of a wrap and I've spent a lot of time swimming in rivers so I didn't panic and went deeper to untangle myself (pre-Spyderco era) then came up, but a lot of people, especially inexperienced swimmers the natural thing would be to try to struggle to the surface (you're usually held just a foot or two from the surface) wear yourself out wrap your legs worse in the stuff kicking in it and deplete your oxygen quicker, a few people have downed from it. It's also a great place for line, hooks and netting to get stuck in and work against a swimmer as well.

[Featherblade]

It's good idea to have a knife when swim. I carry Salt 1 clipped IWB to my swimming shorts.
Pacific Salt is definitely better than Salt 1 but harder to conceal (there are a lot of people around me).

[ladybug93]

I think it's more lakes and rivers, but there some long (3-6ft) plant life that lives on the bottom usually about 2-10 ft from the surface that has been known to wrap around a swimmers feet when jumping in off a boat or dock, I've experienced it myself, luckily not to bad of a wrap and I've spent a lot of time swimming in rivers so I didn't panic and went deeper to untangle myself (pre-Spyderco era) then came up, but a lot of people, especially inexperienced swimmers the natural thing would be to try to struggle to the surface (you're usually held just a foot or two from the surface) wear yourself out wrap your legs worse in the stuff kicking in it and deplete your oxygen quicker, a few people have downed from it. It's also a great place for line, hooks and netting to get stuck in and work against a swimmer as well.

i wasn’t sure what to expect in hawaii, but i know divers die all the time by getting caught up in kelp off the coast of california. that hasn’t been an issue here, but it’s definitely a valid concern.

So I'm planning to create my franken SE pac salt 2 (black blade, yellow handle) and I was planning to sell the leftover satin/black one. But you guys have just convinced me to gift it to my uncle, who spends half the year on Kauai. I'm sure he comes across netting and trapped animals in his ocean/beach adventures, and it'd be put to good use.

you’re a great niece. :) and i really want to see this pac salt you come up with. i might have to copy you because i’ve wanted that combo for a while too.

by the way... not to derail my own thread, but this is exactly what i was talking about when i mentioned spyderco offering customization. all the parts are already there. you should be able to order a pac salt with black blade and hardware and a yellow handle directly from spyderco. maybe you pay a little extra for the labor, but it wouldn’t be as much as two knives. also, they already sell a satin/black version, so they’re not losing anything there by switching it out for you. just a thought, spyderco.

[Surfingringo]

I’m in the ocean everyday but rarely go out just to swim. I’m either on the deck of my kayak or on the deck of my surfboard. I always carry a knife on the kayak (obviously). I never carry one surfing (nor do I advise it). I carry one free diving/spear fishing (which I don’t do much anymore) but don’t carry one on the rare occasions I go in just to swim. I don’t ever go in the ocean just to frolic around so if I bother to go out I’m probably body surfing and don’t think I need one there. Not sure if there’s anything valuable to take from all that, haha, just listing my habits around the ocean. Good news is, in whatever conditions you think you need a knife, Spyderco makes one that can handle the job!

[JuPaul]

So I'm planning to create my franken SE pac salt 2 (black blade, yellow handle) and I was planning to sell the leftover satin/black one. But you guys have just convinced me to gift it to my uncle, who spends half the year on Kauai. I'm sure he comes across netting and trapped animals in his ocean/beach adventures, and it'd be put to good use.

you’re a great niece. :) and i really want to see this pac salt you come up with. i might have to copy you because i’ve wanted that combo for a while too.

by the way... not to derail my own thread, but this is exactly what i was talking about when i mentioned spyderco offering customization. all the parts are already there. you should be able to order a pac salt with black blade and hardware and a yellow handle directly from spyderco. maybe you pay a little extra for the labor, but it wouldn’t be as much as two knives. also, they already sell a satin/black version, so they’re not losing anything there by switching it out for you. just a thought, spyderco.

I'll definitely post pics when it's done. The yellow is in the mail, the black should ship in a week or two, fingers crossed. And I agree, it'd be nice to buy these kinds of mods direct from spyderco. At the same time, it'll be a fun little project.

[TomAiello]

Just make sure the clip is super tight. I lost my Tazman in the Atlantic and still don't know how it came unclipped from my shorts.

Snap-It! (H1, SE) for the win, in this situation. Use the built in wire clip to attach it to the waistband of your shorts. I've carried like this in water on probably more than 100 occasions and never lost the knife.

[Mike Slayer]

That is another reason I always have my Spydiechef on me when I am in the creek, river, sound, ocean and even in the swamp. The floods in my area over the past 21 years have washed a lot of stuff into the swamps and beyond. Along with your normal fishing line, nets and numerous other things you can find yourself in trouble quickly without much time to get out of it. I don’t keep the pocket clip on my Spydiechef. I have had a knife taken right out of my pocket in a situation so since my knives are carried like the time before pocket clips hit the scene. I use a longer lanyard and attach it to a quick release belt I use when I am in or around water. I make sure I have a knife with me that I can’t lose. It’s better to have one and not need than need it and not have it. Always carry a knife no matter what!

[Bill1170]

I clip my SE Pacific Salt in my waistband when I swim in the ocean. Next time it might be the new Caribbean!

[ladybug93]

I clip my SE Pacific Salt in my waistband when I swim in the ocean. Next time it might be the new Caribbean!

definitely let us know how that goes! i have some questions about the performance of the compression lock in the ocean, since i have no experience with that yet.

[VooDooChild]

I clip my SE Pacific Salt in my waistband when I swim in the ocean. Next time it might be the new Caribbean!

definitely let us know how that goes! i have some questions about the performance of the compression lock in the ocean, since i have no experience with that yet.

I personally think the Caribbean is the worst knife in the salt series to carry in/with boardshorts.
I like the knife, and it has nothing to do with the performance of the knife.
It is just big, bulky, and has a weak detent.

[elena86]

Small yet very capable